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Ban woe for Frings

03 Jul 2006 - 16:50:55

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Torsten Frings will miss Tuesday's World Cup semi-final against Italy after the German midfielder was suspended by FIFA.

FIFA launched an investigation after television executives from Italy said they had found evidence that Frings threw a punch at Argentina forward Julio Ricardo Cruz after Germany's quarter-final win against Jose Pekerman's side.

Frings had insisted that he was only acting in self-defence during the fracas that developed on the pitch after Germany's penalty shootout success.

"I found myself in a crowd of people where everyone was hitting out wildly," he told German newspaper Kreiszeitung Syke.

"I took two punches myself. I put out my hands to protect myself, that was all."

The 29-year-old Werder Bremen star has been handed a two-match ban, but the second match is suspended so he will be available for the World Cup final, if Germany beat Italy in Dortmund.